1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of computer software and, more particularly, to network management.
2. Description of the Related Art
Network management is typically handled in a modular fashion, where a software component or hardware device handles a designated operation. For example, network traffic is typically handled by a routers, bridges, and hubs; firewalling is usually handled by a software application; data access restrictions are often handled by a file managing component of an operating system; and e-mail filtering can be handled by an e-mail server routine. These modular network management tools usually utilize locally available information in their operation, where enforced policies are typically based upon one or more parameters relating to a request.
For example, file management systems usually require a data requesting source to identify itself by computer identifier and/or user identifier. The file management system then bases access rights upon the user identification and/or computer identifier. In another example, an e-mail filtering program can analyze e-mail parameters and only deliver e-mail that passes previously established criteria. That is, e-mail can be denied if it comes from a suspect sending source, if content contains key words or graphics that indicate that the e-mail is an unsolicited advertisement, and if the e-mail message fails to satisfy virus and malicious program detection algorithms.
Another conventional network management methodology relies upon establishing a fixed communication protocol relating to a particular function, where operational decisions can be dependent upon conditions established by the protocol. For example, the simple network management protocol (SNMP) establishes a standard for gathering statistical data about network traffic and the behavior of network components. SNMP defines communication devices as either agents or managers, where an agent provides networking information to a manager application running on a different computer. Similar message protocols and enterprise management protocols exist that define a standard and require external devices to adhere to that standard before operations are permitted.
Unfortunately, policies established by current network management solutions can be easily foiled. More specifically, traditional network management systems can be compromised by outside sources with knowledge of low-level specifics relating to a system. That is, most complex systems have a number of discernable weak points, sometimes called exploits, that can be used to circumvent network policies that network administrators attempt to implement. It is practically impossible to design network equipment that does not have some exploitable weaknesses. As soon as one weakness is patched, two new weaknesses are discovered and exploited. Further, each new hardwire device, operating system, network protocol, and technology introduces a myriad of new weaknesses.
Conventional network management solutions have failed to approach network management from a holistic perspective. A holistic approach would permit the decoupling of network policies from modularly defined protocols, devices, and software applications. Accordingly, data synergy achieved when combining network data from available network components has not been leveraged to enact network policies that cannot be easily circumvented.